Myths
The Cut-Off: a Louisiana Ghost Story
retold by S. E. Schlosser
The devil was in the Mississippi River that night. You could feel it with every eddy swirling against the helm of the boat. You could hear it in every jangle of the bell. You could see it in the dim light of the lantern as it tried to pierce the swirling fog. You could sense it in the sound of the chugging engine. The devil was in the river. It was a bad night to be out in a paddleboat. But he had sworn when he set out that nothing could make him turn back.
No other pilot dared brave the Mississippi that night. They were all huddled in the tavern, gossiping. After an evening of listening to their empty boasts, he had made one himself. He knew the Mississippi River so well that he could guide his paddleboat on his run even through the thickness of the night’s fog. When the other pilots heard his boast, they laughed and told him he would be back before midnight. He had grown angry at their jeers, and had sworn in front of them all that he would not turn back this night for any reason, should the Devil bar the way!
The paddle wheeler was rocking oddly under the strange eddies of the river. But he knew every turn and guided her along despite the fog. He was almost to Raccourci when he saw shore where no shore had ever been before.
He turned the boat this way and that. It could not be! The river ran straight through on this branch. He had guided his paddleboat through this place a hundred times.
But the devil must have been listening at the tavern and had heard his boast, for the Mississippi had shifted! He swore every curse he knew, and kept searching for a way through. He had vowed to complete his run without turning back and he was determined to carry out his vow. He would never go back. Never! He would stay there until daybreak, and beyond if need be.
Suddenly, the paddleboat gave a massive jerk. The engine stalled. The boat shuddered and overturned. When the fog lifted the next day, they found his paddleboat sunk to the bottom with a gaping hole in its side, and the pilot drowned.
On foggy nights, you can still hear the ring of the bell, the sound of the engine and the curses of the ghost captain trying to complete his run.
Père Dagobert and the St. Louis Cathedral
According to the legends of New Orleans, on certain rainy nights, in the hours before dawn, the crisp, clear voice of a man can be heard singing the “Kyrie” in the air between the St. Louis Cathedral and St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. The story behind this phantom voice is one of the lingering legends of the city.
The owner of the spectral voice was a priest named Pere Dagobert. He arrived in New Orleans in 1745 to pastor the Church of Saint Louis, now the St. Louis Cathedral. He was a very popular and beloved man and he was more than just a priest to the people. He cared for the sick, was the benefactor of the poor and the widowed and was embraced by the people.
In October of 1764, the acting governor of Louisiana announced to the colony of New Orleans that the land of the city had been given in treaty to Spain. The people suddenly found themselves citizens of Spain and terror erupted in New Orleans. The French families organized support and petitioned the king of France not to cede New Orleans to Spain but the petition failed. And the first rebellion began to boil in the New World. In March of 1766, the first Spanish governor, Don Antonio de Ulloa, arrived in New Orleans. He was instantly hated and a plot began to be hatched to overthrow the Spanish. The ringleaders were some of the wealthiest and most prominent men in the city and all were friends of Pere Dagobert. The rebellion was successful and in November 1768, the Spanish governor fled for the safety of Havana…. but Spain was not willing to give up without a fight.
They sent a Spanish fleet of 24 ships to New Orleans under the command of Don Alejandro O’Reilly, an Irish expatriate, now fighting for Spain. The rebellion was crushed and the leaders were all arrested. On October 24, 1769, the rebel leaders were executed by firing squad. Their names were Lafreniere, Noyan, Caresse, Marquis and Milhet. A sixth man, Villere, had been bayoneted when he was arrested and had died awaiting trial. The men were killed, but O’Reilly refused to allow them to be buried. The corpses were left out to rot in the rain and heat. The people were shocked and appalled, not believing that a Catholic would allow these men to not be buried decently. But there was nothing to be done as the bodies were placed under the watchful eye of the Spanish garrison. But something happened one night that has never been explained….
Pere Dagobert appeared at the homes of the slain men and summoned their families to the cathedral. When they arrived, they found that the bodies of the ringleaders had somehow appeared there. A funeral mass was held and then, in the driving rain, the men were all entombed at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. The miracle was never forgotten by the city’s French and just how Dagobert managed to steal the bodies away from the Spanish soldiers has remained a mystery to this day. Many believe that it is Pere Dagobert’s voice that has been heard singing the “Kyrie” near the old cathedral and his spirit is still keeping watch over New Orleans more than 200 years later.